Machine for cleaning and grading wheat



(No Model.)

M. PORDER.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND GRADING WHEAT.

Patented Dec. 16, 1884.

lNVENTOR ATTORNEY arnnr rricni.

MILTON FORDEB, OF DASSEL, MINNESOTA.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND GRADING WHEAT.

EZPBC'IFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,216, dated December 16, 1884:.

Application filed February 11, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MILTON FORDER, of Dassel, in the county of Meeker and State of Minnesota, have invented an Improved Machine for Cleaning and Grading \Vheat, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to furnish an efficient and inexpensive machine for farmers use in cleaning grain, particularly seedwheat, of cockle, mustard, and other seeds, and also to construct such machine so that it can be taken apart and packed compactly for transportation.

The invention consists in certain features of construction of a rotary screen and its frame, as hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate the same parts.

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is an end view. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 00 m of Fig. l, and Fig. 4 is a detail view.

The frame of the machine consists of end standards, A A, which are secured together by a rail, 13, attached by means of screws a, passing through the standards.

To the standard A, at the head of the machine, is fixed avertical feed-tube, b, by means of screws, the lower end of the tube being formed as and terminating in a side mouth, 0, of circular form, that extends into the rotary screen, and supports one end of the same, as hereinafter specified.

To the upper end of feed-tube b a board, d, is attached by means of side pieces, e, of cloth or other flexible material, so as to form ahopper for receiving the grain to be cleaned, and this construction allows of the hopper being closed into a platform for transportation.

The rotary screen and drum 0 are construct ed as follows:

6 is a circular head, having a central aperture. f is a ring at the tail end, of larger diameter than the head 6, and g is a casing, of metal, wood, paper-board, or other stiff material, attached to head 0 and ring f, so as to form a tapering drum, the smaller end being at feed-tube b.

h is a shaft having arms i, that are attached at their outer ends to strips k, of wood, which extend lengthwise of the drum and within the same. The strips are at opposite sides of the drum attached to ring f and head 6, and they are grooved lengthwise at Z to receive the flanges of screen-sections m, so that a tapering screen is formed within the drum, and there is a space between the screen and the outer covering, 9; The shaft rests at one end on the lower standard, A, and thehead e sets over the mouth 0 of the feed-tube for support of the upper end of the drum. A crank-handle, a, or other device for rotating the drum, extends through the side of feed-tube 1) into the shaft h. The lower standard, A, is recessed to form a shallow hopper having an outlet at 0, and the screen-sections at project beyond the drum for discharging the grain into this hopper. At its lower end the outer covering, 9, has holes 9, and a spout, p, is fixed to the rail B in position for receiving the material discharged from the space outside the screen, which escapes from the holes For the screens perforated sheet metal, wirecloth, or other material may be used, the holes or mesh being of suitable size and form, according to the grain that is operated on. I prefer to use paper or straw board, perforated and varnished or sized to stiffen it, and made with attached flanges m, as shown in Fig. 4, which flanges engage the grooves Z of strips 7c. Screens of that material are of superior character for the purpose, and the sections, whether made of paper or metal, can be readily drawn out and others inserted, as may be required.

In the operation of the machine the wheat or other grain passes from the feed-hopper into the head of the screen, and is caused to move to the lower end by the rotation and tapering shape of the screen. The cockle and other small seeds pass through the screen,and, being caught by the outer casing,are delivered at one point by the spout 1), thus preventing them from becoming scattered, while the cleaned grain escapes at the end of the screen.

i The advantages of a rotary screen are that the work can be done rapidly and effect ively with a machine occupying but little space, and no complicated mechanism is required, and, further, the grain is not scattered or wasted by spilling, as is the case with flat shakingscreens.

holding the frame and parts are to be removed,

and the Whole may then be packed in close shape. 5 N0 especial skill is required to set the machine up.

I do not limit myself to the special means shown for attaching the screensections in place.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a Wheat-cleaner, the feed-tube Z1 and To take down the machine, the few screws hopper having flexible sides, combined with the rotary screen and its frame, substantially as described.

2. In awheat-cleaner, the board (1 and flexible side pieces, 6, combined with feed-tube b and standard A, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

MILTON FORDER.

\Vitn esses:

J. M. J OHNSON, STEWART JOHNSON. 

